The email about the job cuts, which will affect workers in the United States, China and India, said, "our costs are too high, we're operating in markets where we're not competitive and we're losing money," according to the Journal.

Google bought the money-losing cellphone maker for $12.5 billion last year, its largest acquisition ever, aiming to use Motorola Mobility's armory of patents to fend off legal attacks on its Android mobile platform and expand beyond its software business.

But the acquisition raised concerns on Wall Street that Google was entering a business with much lower profit margins.